Time for a sailing thread. Where's Bart when you need him?

One of the essential characteristics of a cruising boat is that she be
"easy to handle." Obviously this means different things to different people.

What makes a boat "easy to handle"? Size? A powerful windlass & roller
furling? Self-tailing winches? Halyards led aft? I have a number of
things rooted in the basic design of a boat, and which cannot be added on.

In the quote below, they refer to size & turning ability, but not basic
configuration or deck layout. IMHO these things should all be a part of
the choice of boat, and cannot be upgraded later.

Small jibs, possibly fitted with self-tacking gear, is a big improvement
over a huge genoa... unless the boat will not sail properly because it's
underpowered. Basic design. Etc etc.

I'm interested in what others have to say on the subject.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King


** ** begin quote from "The Stone Horse" booklet, Edey & Duff, 1968** **

Cruising sailboats are almost invariably short-handed. The watch on deck
is frequently only one person. So the sails and rig should be within the
strength capability of this abbreviated crew. The smallest, weakest
member of the crew, working alone, should be able to perform aby
evolution required to rescue another crewmember who's been silly enough
to fall overboard, in any weather likely to be encountered. In case of
medical emergency, he or she should also be able to detach the vessel
from the bottom (as such things usually wait until you're tucked away in
some remote anchorage) , get underway, sail to where help can be found,
and terminate the emergency run without terminating either the patient
or the boat.

And of course it's times like these that the engine and radio choose to
pack it in (Murphy has provided a natural law to cover these
situations).

Up to a point, mechanical aids such as winches and windlasses, and to a
greater extent, the the knowledge and experience of each crew member,
will permit larger, heavier, more cumbersome boats and gear. But
ultimately, a flogging headsail that must be muzzled and changed, a
spinnaker doused, or an anchor heaved on board or buoyed and slipped,
become the limiting factors.

She should be directionally stable, yet have authoritative rudder
control and a small turning circle. When the helmsman looks up from the
chart, she should not have wandered wildly off course. In fact it is
especially important that a cruising boat can be made to steer herself
for long periods. You should be able to leave the helm untended to trim,
set or shorten sail, make a sndwich, answer nature's call, study a
chart, or for any number of reasons without having to awaken a snoozing
spouse or trust a lubberly passenger.

On the other hand, to be able to negotiate a narrow harbor entrancem
twitch reliably and safely through an anchored fleet, and come to
anchor, wholly under sail, with a minimum of fuss, is a joy and a
satisfaction.